In the meat industry, specialist trained and skilled operators are employed, in abattoirs for example, in order to inspect each animal carcase and to provide estimates or gradings of various parameters, such as the predicted saleable meat yield of each carcase. Such predictions of meat yield and gradings are very important for fixing a fair value for the carcase and for determining uses to which the carcase and meat cuts will be destined. Obviously it is very important for the meat industry generally including producers, processors and consumers that such operators are consistent both within a particular abattoir or processing facility and between different facilities at different places and different times.
In the case of ovine carcases, particularly sheep carcases, the analyses commonly used include both quantitative and qualitative measurements or assessments such as dimensional measurements, yield, particularly “lean meat yield”, and fat depths.
There have been proposed and developed automated systems for image capture and colour analysis for automating beef carcase yield predictions or gradings, or at least for providing some objective replacement or supplement to human operators. However, such automated analysis and yield predicting systems for beef have not been applicable to sheep carcases both in their physical construction and arrangement, and also in the analyses performed and data output.